Cognyte Software (NASDAQ:CGNT) Trading 4% Higher – Still a Buy?

Shares of Cognyte Software Ltd. (NASDAQ:CGNT) shot up 4% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $8.55 and last traded at $8.55. 53,574 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 308,128 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on CGNT. StockNews.com upgraded Cognyte Software from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognyte Software in a research report on Thursday.

Cognyte Software Trading Down 2.5 %

The company has a 50-day moving average of $7.35 and a 200-day moving average of $7.37. The company has a market capitalization of $629.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -46.05 and a beta of 1.81.

Cognyte Software (NASDAQ:CGNT) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 10th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $84.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $83.69 million. Cognyte Software had a negative net margin of 3.95% and a negative return on equity of 13.38%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.11) earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Cognyte Software Ltd. will post -0.28 EPS for the current year.

Cognyte Software announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, November 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $20.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognyte Software

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CGNT. American Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Cognyte Software by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,402,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,475,000 after buying an additional 502,781 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cognyte Software by 13.3% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 2,611,449 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,928,000 after purchasing an additional 306,479 shares during the last quarter. Edenbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Cognyte Software by 3.4% during the third quarter. Edenbrook Capital LLC now owns 6,283,226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,663,000 after purchasing an additional 207,675 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Cognyte Software in the third quarter worth about $1,101,000. Finally, Scalar Gauge Management LLC boosted its position in Cognyte Software by 30.8% in the 2nd quarter. Scalar Gauge Management LLC now owns 425,032 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,247,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.92% of the company’s stock.

About Cognyte Software

Cognyte Software Ltd. provides an investigative analytics software to governments and enterprises worldwide. Its Actionable Intelligence for a Safer World, an open software designed to help governments and enterprises accelerate and enhance the effectiveness of investigations. The company offers network intelligence analytics, threat intelligence analytics, decision intelligence analytics, and operational intelligence analytics solutions.